


Now What?

by nocturnal_wanderlust (bdw22520)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Drama, Feels, Fictional Events, Humor, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Minor Violence, Multi, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-08-15 06:46:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8046319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bdw22520/pseuds/nocturnal_wanderlust
Summary: “I just caught the news and they were talking about the Drop.” Kuroo stopped chopping and looked at Kenma. His dark eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was downturned. “What’d they say about it?” he asked as he leaned his hip against the counter.“They’re opening it up to other countries and the applications start in two weeks. So are you going to try to enter?” Kenma asked Kuroo. Kuroo looked down at the carrot he’d just been chopping and shrugged.*****Kenma and Kuroo pull their friends into an elaborate scheme that can get them all sent to prison. But they all believe it'll be worth it if it makes a difference in the people's lives. Follow this group of friends as they break government regulations and deal with the fallout. Things are bond to be interesting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the first chapter of my first ever Haikyuu fic!!! I hope you guys enjoy, so buckle in for the ride!!!

Kenma was sitting on the couch of his apartment with his laptop in his lap. He checked through emails from his boss and rolled his eyes at each demand the man made. Kenma thought working from home most of the week would help him avoid his boss, but he was mistaken. It seemed like his boss contacted him more than if he’d just worked in the office most of the week.

He’d been working for the small graphic design firm for two years and he’d been working from home for almost a year. He kind of enjoyed his job. What he enjoyed most about his job was that he could be sitting in his pajamas and playing video games, while he worked on a project.

At the age of twenty-three years old, Kenma felt pretty alright about where he was in his life. A lot of things in his life had changed since he was in high school. But one thing remained constant.

The front door to the two bedroom apartment opened and a soaking wet, Kuroo stepped through the door. He took off his wet shoes at the door before taking off his wet coat. His normally untamed hair lay flat on his head, with his bang sticking to his cheek.

“Welcome home.” Kenma greeted automatically from his spot on the couch. Kuroo walked to the couch and plopped down next to Kenma heaving a sigh.

“I’m back,” he said as he leaned his head back on the couch. “How was your day?” Kuroo asked as he looked over at Kenma. Kenma could see the water dripping down Kuroo’s face and down the expanse of his neck.

“It was fine. My boss kept emailing me revisions one of my clients had.”

“Is it that lady you’re designing the new website for?” Kuroo asked.

“No. She’s easier to handle. It’s Kimura-san,” when Kenma saw Kuroo’s confused face he elaborated. “He’s the man with the potbelly that sweats a lot and has this weird fascination with hands.” Recognition finally showed on Kuroo’s face.

“Didn’t you say when you met him in person he caressed your hand?” Kuroo asked.

“Yeah and he said they were elegant and perfectly proportionate with my slight frame,” Kenma said from memory. He also got chills when he had to the man in person. “He keeps demanding that we add more stuff to his website or that we take away something that is actually useful. I don’t know how much more I can take. So how was your day?”

Kuroo laughed at Kenma’s expense. Kenma’s attitude toward putting forth a large amount of energy for a task was still the same as it was in high school.

“It was great. I can tell that some of the students are starting to understand the concepts that I’m teaching. Also, the volleyball team has its first match on next week. Think you can come?” Kuroo taught Biology at their old high school, Nekoma. He was also the faculty advisor and assistant coach of the boys’ volleyball team. He was asked to help out by Coach Naoi after Nekomata retired.

“You’re such a nerd.” Kenma mumbled under his breath.

“Take that back or I’m going to burn those ugly ass Uggs you have in your closet.” Kuroo said as he got off the couch and started towards the bedroom. Kenma put his laptop on the couch and walked to catch up with Kuroo.

“You wouldn’t dare. Those are my comfy shoes.” Kenma said as he grabbed hold of Kuroo’s arm. Kuroo just dragged the smaller young man along with him as walked into the room. Kuroo threw open Kenma’s closet and sighed at how unorganized it was. He looked around for the shoes he was looking for. Kenma gave up on pulling Kuroo’s arm and instead decided to sit on the bed and play his DS.

Kuroo found the monstrosities he was looking for and held them up. They were a pair of tan ankle height Uggs. The bottoms of the shoes were slowly starting to wear out from Kenma shuffling around in them. Kenma looked up from his game and stared Kuroo straight in the eyes.

“You take back your nerd comment or I’m throwing these things out into the dumpster.” Kuroo said as he returned Kenma’s eye contact. Kuroo was one of the few people that Kenma could stare directly in the eyes. Growing up they used to always have staring contests and Kenma usually won them.

“Okay, I take back what I said. Happy?” Kenma said. Kuroo threw the Uggs back into the closet and sat down next to Kenma on the bed.

“Yes I am happy,” Kuroo said as he laid his head on Kenma’s shoulder. They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while until Kuroo sprang up from Kenma’s shoulder, which startled the boy. “I just remembered something.”

“What is it?” Kenma asked as his heart started to stop racing.

“I talked to Bo early today and he invited us to dinner at his and Akaashi’s apartment tomorrow night.”  Kuroo told Kenma. Kenma looked up from his DS and thought about the invitation. He knew the night would be spent with Bokuto and Kuroo arguing about who’s volleyball team was better, while Akaashi threw in a sarcastic comment every few sentences. But he had nothing else to do plus Bokuto was a great cook.

“I’m up for it as long as you and Bokuto keep your petty rivalry to a minimum.” Kenma said. Kuroo looked at Kenma incredulously.

“I don’t think you have the room to call anyone petty. You still bring up the time Lev dropped on the ground when you guys were trying to rescue that cat. You and Akaashi are the pettiest people. Don’t get me started about when you two get together with Tsukishima and Kunimi.” Kuroo could rant for hours about Kenma’s bouts of pettiness.

Kenma just rolled his eyes. He was not a petty person. He still brought the cat incident with Lev, because he was still pissed about being dropped on his face. That was not a short fall. He was almost two meters in the air.

“I am not petty.” Kenma defended.

“You are.” Kuroo replied.

“Am not,” Kenma could tell this would go on for a while if he didn’t nip it in the bud. “I am not petty and that is final.” Kenma returned to playing his game, while Kuroo stood up from the bed and started to change into more comfortable clothes.

“You’re still petty,” Kuroo mumbled to himself as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. Kenma glared at him and threw a pillow at him. “See that just proves my point.” Kenma stood up from the bed and walked back into the living room.

He turned on the TV that sat on a built-in shelf that was there when they moved in. Kenma flipped through the channels until he stopped on a drama that he and Kuroo liked to watch. Kenma could see Kuroo walked into the kitchen through his peripheral vision.

“What are you cooking?” Kenma asked. Kuroo poked his head out of the kitchen.

 

“Curry. It’s quick and simple. And it’ll be done in time for Asia Next Top Model.” The show was a guilty pleasure of theirs. They’d binged watched every season and were invested in the show. “Make sure you change the channel at eight.” Kuroo told Kenma before he went back into the kitchen.

The drama that Kenma was watching went off and the news came on. He was about to change the channel when he heard something that peaked his interest.

“The Prime Minister gave a speech tonight about the semiannual Dropping. He said the application for the Drop will open in two weeks. He also stated for the first time since the Drop started, it will be open to other nations. He urges that people open their minds and hearts and participate in the drop.” The anchorman on TV said. The segment changed to one about government officials and corruption. Kenma changed the channel and walked into the kitchen, where Kuroo was chopping up carrots.

“What’s up?” he asked not looking up from the carrots.

“I just caught the news and they were talking about the Drop.” Kuroo stopped chopping and looked at Kenma. His dark eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was downturned.

“What’d they say about it?” he asked as he leaned his hip against the counter.

“They’re opening it up to other countries and the applications start in two weeks. So are you going to try to enter?” Kenma asked Kuroo. Kuroo looked down at the carrot he’d just been chopping and shrugged.

“I’m still thinking about it. Entering the Drop is a big deal especially if they choose me as one of the participants. It would change both of our lives.” Kenma knew it would shake up their lives, but he knew Kuroo really wanted to. At the age of twenty-four, Kuroo was finally eligible to apply for the Drop. He’d always wanted to participate in the Drop after he found out his aunt and uncle had been a part of it.

“If it’s something you want to do you should apply. I mean you have a steady income and this is something you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t regret not putting your name in when you had the chance.” Kenma said as Kuroo turned back to chopping carrots.

“I mean they’ll have another one at the end of the year. I could always apply then.” Kuroo reasoned.

“Sure you could, but the government is opening the Drop up to other countries, which means they may come in and take your chance. And don’t you always say that it’s for the greater good?” Kenma said in an attempt to persuade Kuroo.

“I’ll think about it.” Kuroo said as he dumped the chopped carrots into a pan with other vegetables. Kenma took that as the end of their conversation and went back to the living room. He worked a bit on a website layout, while Kuroo finished cooking. Kenma looked at the clock on his laptop and called out to Kuroo.

“Top Model starts in seven minutes.” he shouted. He could hear Kuroo banging around in the kitchen after his announcement. A little bit later, Kuroo walked out of the kitchen holding two plates of curry and a bottle of juice.

As soon as Kuroo sat down, the newest episode of Top Model started. Kuroo and Kenma ate their dinner as they routed for their favorite aspiring models. They placed a bet on which girl would go home that week. Kenma ended up winning, so Kuroo had to buy him an entire apple pie from his favorite bakery.

Kenma got up off of the couch and brought the dishes into the kitchen. He thought about washing them but decided to just leave them in the sink. Instead, Kenma walked over to their refrigerator and grabbed two popsicles from the freezer.

When he walked back into the living room, Kuroo was still sitting on the couch, but he was talking on the phone while deeply engrossed in what was on TV. Kenma sat down next to Kuroo and saw that he was watching a special report on the Drop. Kenma placed one of the popsicles on the back of Kuroo’s neck and snickered as he jumped out of his skin.

“Shit that’s cold,” Kuroo yelled as he whipped around and glared at Kenma. Kuroo turned his attention back to his phone, where Kenma could hear Bokuto speaking loudly. “No, I wasn’t talking about you. Kenma put a popsicle on the back of my neck.”

“What did Bokuto call for?” Kenma asked as Kuroo pulled his phone away from his ear and put the phone on speaker.

“He called because he wanted to know if we watched Top Model,” Kuroo answered. “But then this special report started and we started talking about it. That is when I found out that Bo is going to apply for the Drop.” 

“So are you going to join me in this process?” Bokuto shouted through the phone. Kenma could hear Akaashi try to quiet down his boyfriend. Kuroo ran a hand over his face in exasperation. Kenma could see the wheels turning in his head.

“This is a huge decision,” Kuroo mused. “I’ll sleep on it. I have two weeks to decide.” Kuroo usually faced big decision with a level head. He didn’t go into too many situations without having some kind of plan.

“That’s the smart thing to do,” Bokuto said. “I look forward to hearing your answer later on. Oh and if you were thinking about talking to Daichi and Suga about this, both of them are entering the Drop. So there goes one level-headed neutral party.” Bokuto said as if reading Kuroo’s mind. He usually went to Daichi for serious advice, but now that Daichi was tainted that only left him with two other options.

“That leaves me with Iwaizumi and Ushiwaka, but that means I also get Oikawa and Tendou. I just hope Oikawa hasn’t puppy dog-eyed Iwaizumi into applying. I need a neutral party to speak with.” Kuroo lamented. Kenma shook his head at how over-dramatic Kuroo was being.

Kenma reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out his cellphone. He opened the Instagram app and looked for Oikawa’s profile. He knew Oikawa would have updated if Iwaizumi finally gave into his unrelenting pestering about entering the Drop. Once the page loaded, Kenma was bombarded by multiple pictures of Oikawa. His latest picture was of him and Iwaizumi laying on the couch together with their TV in the background.

Kenma clicked on the picture and read the caption. And pretty much said they were both going to apply for the Drop and how he was excited. Kenma exited out of the app and looked back at Kuroo, who was no longer on the phone.

“Oikawa and Iwaizumi are both entering the Drop.” Kenma told Kuroo. Kuroo groaned loudly at the news.

“Have they all entered into some kind of pact?” Kuroo stood up from the couch and started to pace in front of the TV. Kuroo was quietly talking to himself as he paced back and forth. “I don’t think I’m fully ready to apply for the Drop. What if I get picked and I do something wrong?”

“You don’t have to apply if you aren’t ready. Nobody is forcing you to enter.” Kenma told Kuroo as his pacing started he started to burn a hole through their floor. Kuroo came to a stop and turned to Kenma. “So what’s your decision?”

Kuroo ran a hand through his unruly bedhead and sighed.

“I guess I’m entering the Drop.” He said with an uneasy smile.

“I guess we’re going to be preparing for the Drop.” Kenma said as he stood up from the couch and walked over to Kuroo. Kuroo wrapped his arms around Kenma’s shoulders while Kenma wrapped his arms around Kuroo’s waist.

“We’re gonna be okay.” Kuroo whispered softly. Kenma could feel Kuroo’s heart beating rapidly in his chest. Kenma turned his head and placed a soft kiss over Kuroo’s heart and looked up at him.

“Yeah. We’re gonna be just fine.” he said back to Kuroo. 

  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  



	2. Was That Really Necessary?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa visits and says something that plants a seed into someone's mind. The gang gets together. Someone confesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!!! It's a bit of intro to the other characters and it also helps build a relationship. Some characters may be OOC, but I hope not too much. The OOC-ness is for plot progression.
> 
> So please enjoy!!!

 Sunlight crept into the room through the cracks in the blinds. It cast it’s irritatingly bright glow on the bed that sat in the middle of the bedroom. One of the bodies in the bed softly groaned at the light’s intrusion.

“Not today sun.” Kenma groaned as he turned away from the window. Kenma pulled the covers over his head and rubbed his feet against Kuroo’s leg. Kuroo groaned at the feeling of Kenma’s cold feet on his warm skin. Kuroo’s head was smashed between pillows like it always was. Even after Kenma told him that the way he slept was what caused his bedhead, Kuroo still unconsciously slept with his head between two pillows.

“It’s my day off let me sleep.” Kuroo mumbled as he pulled one of the pillows away from his head. He rolled closer to Kenma and placed his head on his shoulder. Kenma patted Kuroo’s hair and opened one eye.

“Good m’rning,” Kenma yawned. “What time is it?” he asked as he turned to look at Kuroo.

“Good morning to you too. And I don’t know what time it is?” he answered.

“Well check.”

“I don’t feel like it. I’m comfortable.” Kuroo said as he snuggled into Kenma’s side. They remained in that position until Kenma’s bladder started to cry for release. He pushed Kuroo away from him and went to the toilet. Once he was done, Kenma walked into the bathroom where Kuroo was brushing his teeth and nudged him aside with his hip.

When Kuroo was done brushing his teeth he left the bathroom and went to the kitchen where he started on breakfast. Kenma shuffled into the kitchen shortly after him and sat at the small dining table. He pulled his DS out of his pocket and picked up where he left off. Kuroo plated two omelets and placed them onto the table before walking to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of juice. Kenma got up from the table and made four slices of toast.

“Thanks for this meal.” Kuroo said once Kenma was back at the table. The two sat at the table quietly eating until someone knocked on their door. Kuroo pushed his chair away from the table and walked to the door.

“Who is it?” He asked as he stopped in front of the door.

“It’s Oikawa.” Kuroo rolled his eyes and put his hand over the doorknob.

“I’m sorry I don’t know anyone named Oikawa.” Kuroo said. He could hear Oikawa huff in annoyance outside. Kuroo opened the door and revealed the unamused face of Oikawa Tooru. “Why are you here so early?” Kuroo asked as Oikawa let himself into their apartment.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning. That’s not early.” He said as he took a seat on the couch. Kenma walked out of the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at Oikawa.

“Why are you here?” Kenma asked him. “Did you and Iwaizumi get into another argument?”

“No we didn’t get into an argument. I’m here to drag you two to a friendly game of volleyball.” Oikawa said with a dazzling smile. Kenma groaned and walked back into the kitchen.

“I’d really rather just stay in for the day. I mean I have work tomorrow and I watch kids play volleyball at work all the time.” Kuroo said to Oikawa.

“But it's been so long since we’ve had the entire gang back together.” Oikawa whined. “Hajime is waiting in the car downstairs. C’mon you two.” Oikawa stood up from the couch and pushed Kuroo towards the bedroom. Once Kuroo was in the room, Oikawa went into the kitchen and picked Kenma up from where he was sitting.

“Put me down,” Kenma said as Oikawa walked to the bedroom. He threw Kenma onto the bed and started to look through the closet. “You are way too comfortable in our house.” Kenma complained. Oikawa just shrugged his shoulders and threw a pair of athletic shorts at Kenma’s face.

Kenma and Kuroo looked at Oikawa with raised eyebrows.

“Are you just going to stand in here while we change?” Kuroo asked their friend.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before,” Oikawa joked as he plopped down on their bed. “I mean there was that one time in college when I made out with Kenma.” Kenma grabbed a pillow from the bed and whacked Oikawa in the face with it.

“I thought we agreed to stop bringing that up.” Kenma said through gritted teeth as he shot a quick look at a confused Kuroo.

“When did that happen?” Kuroo asked. Oikawa pushed the pillow that was on his face away.

“It was our second year and it was when you started dating T-,” Kenma shoved the pillow back over Oikawa’s face until the taller boy started to kick for help.

“If you say another word I’m going to tell Iwaizumi about the time you sucked Sugawara’s dick.” Kenma whispered to Oikawa. Oikawa groaned against the pillow and stopped struggling. Kenma took the pillow off of Oikawa’s face and moved to finished getting changed.

“We made out when you started dating Tsukishima.” Oikawa blurted out before he bolted from the apartment and ran as fast as he could to Iwaizumi and the waiting car. 

Iwaizumi jumped when he saw his boyfriend tugging at the locked door. He unlocked the door and watched as Oikawa hopped into the car and slammed the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he looked at Oikawa trying to catch his breath. Before Oikawa could answer, a very angry Kenma walked to the car.

“Floor it.” Oikawa shouted as Kenma tried to pull his door open. “He’s trying to kill me.” Amused by his boyfriend’s terror, Iwaizumi unlocked the door and watched as Kenma opened Oikawa’s door and started yelling at him.

“How could you tell him that? That was a secret between setters, so now I’m going to get you back. Just wait for it.” Kenma said before he closed the car door and took a seat in the back. Kuroo walked down a few minutes later and sat next to Kenma.

“So are we ready to go?” Iwaizumi asked before he pulled out of the apartment’s parking lot. Iwaizumi and Kuroo were the only two talking on the ride to meet up with everyone else. Kenma refused to talk to Oikawa, who was sulking in the front seat.

“So what did Oikawa do to Kenma?” Iwaizumi asked as they sat in traffic. Kuroo sighed.

“Oikawa told me something that I was not supposed to know about and Kenma got upset.” Kuroo told Iwaizumi.

“It was a secret and he told which is not okay. Also, Iwaizumi did you know that Oikawa sucked Suga’s dick.” Kenma said from his spot in the backseat. Oikawa sat up straight and looked at Iwaizumi.

“Yeah I knew that. Suga told me about that a few days after it happened.” Iwaizumi said with a shrug. Disappointed by the outcome of the confession, Kenma crossed his arms over his chest and remained quiet for the rest of the ride.

As they continued driving, Kenma and Kuroo saw a familiar high school come into view. In the teachers’ parking lot were three cars. Iwaizumi pulled up next to a black car with a small owl plush hanging from the interior rear view mirror.

“Why are we at Fukurodani?” Kuroo asked as they all got out of the car.

“Bokuto said he got permission from the principal, but I don't know if that's entirely true.” Oikawa said as they walked to the practice gym. As they got closer to the gym, they could hear the voices of their friends, the squeak of shoes on the gym floor, and the smacking of balls onto the floor.

Kuroo pulled the door open and was immediately almost tackled to the ground by 180 pounds of man. 

“Hey! Hey! Hey! You guys finally made it.” Bokuto Koutarou shouted as the group stepped into the gym. Bokuto threw his arm around Kuroo’s shoulder and led him to the court. Iwazumi, Oikawa, and Kenma followed behind them. Sugawara and Akaashi were sitting to the side stretching while Daichi was setting up the volleyball net with help from Asahi.

Kenma walked over to Suga and Akaashi and sat down.

“Hey Kenma,” Suga said when he looked up. “I’m glad you decided to come.”

“I mean it seems a bit excessive to have four setters, but I am also glad that you could make it.” Akaashi said to Kenma.

“Hey Kou-chan and ‘Kaashi,” Oikawa chirped as he plopped down next to Sugawara. “Kenma is being mean to me today.” He pouted as he rested his head on Suga’s shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure he has a reason to mad at you.” Suga said.

“He told Kuroo about the time that we made out.” Kenma mumbled. Suga looked down at Oikawa’s head and shrugged it off of his shoulder.

“Oikawa you didn’t?” Suga asked in a disapproving tone.

“I thought Kenma had already told Kuroo about that since they're dating.” Oikawa said in defense of his actions.

“Kenma still hadn’t told Kuroo about that?” Akaashi said as he jumped into the conversation. Kenma watched as his friends went back and forth on the subject.

“First of all, Kuroo and I aren’t dating. And second, I didn’t think telling him I made out with Oikawa a few years ago was important.” Kenma said. The three other boys turned and looked at Kenma in silence.

“What do you mean you and Kuroo aren’t dating?” Suga asked.

“Don’t you two sleep together?” Akaashi asked.

“I could have sworn you two have been together for a while now.” Oikawa interjected. Kenma sighed at his friends. His situation with Kuroo was complicated. They’d moved in together when Kenma graduated from college. The line between friends and romantic partners started to blur slightly, but they never sat down and defined what they were.

Kenma did know where Kuroo stood on the subject of their relationship, so he just didn’t feel the need to put a label on it. 

“I feel like you should probably inform Kuroo that you two aren’t dating.” Oikawa said.

“It’s not a big deal.” Kenma mumbled.

Oikawa stood up and cupped a hand over his mouth. The three boys that were sitting next to him knew he was about to do something stupid, but they were too late in stopping him.

“Kuroo are you dating Kenma?” Oikawa shouted across the gym. Kuroo’s head shot up from the conversation he was having with Daichi. He looked at Oikawa in confusion.

“I...guess…” He answered with a vague shrug. “We just don’t feel the need to label things between us.” He elaborated. Oikawa looked disappointed and sat back down.

“Now can you please drop the subject?” Kenma asked his friends. With a nod they all went back to chatting idly.

They were in the middle of talking about some drama they all watched, when loud footsteps started head their way. Kenma looked up from his phone and looked at the cause of the noise. A small young man with shaggy black hair and a bleach blonde bang.

He ran over to the group and jumped into Suga’s lap with a boisterous laugh.

“For someone so small, you make a lot of noise.” Oikawa said. Nishinoya Yuu turned to Oikawa and glared.

“Not all of us could be blessed with height.” he huffed from his spot in Suga’s lap.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to make it today?” Suga said to Nishinoya.

“I was able to finish my interview early, so now I am able to wow you all with my amazing libero skills.” he said with a loud laugh.

“I’m pretty sure your coach would want you to be resting, not running around playing volleyball with a bunch of has-beens.” Oikawa huffed. Noya turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Coach would gladly have you back on the team.” Oikawa just waved away his comment and walked over to the other guys.

Nishinoya and Bokuto were both on the Japan’s national volleyball team. Oikawa had once been on the team, but off overworking his body, he had to sit out a season and decided not to go back his physical therapist told him he wouldn’t be able to play at the same caliber.

“How’s Bokuto handling being both on the national team and coaching Fukurodani?” Suga asked Akaashi. Kenma already knew how that was going because Kuroo and Bokuto talked on the phone almost everyday. Kenma had heard so many conversations about how to motivate their teams that he could probably write an entire novel or four.

“It tires him out quickly. He complains more about his aches and pains, but overall he’s happy. He gets to play the sport he loves and teach the sport he loves. For him that’s a win-win situation.” Akaashi mused about his boyfriend. Kenma visibly cringed sickeningly sweet way Akaashi talked about Bokuto.

Suga smiled at Akaashi as he talked about Bokuto.

“I remember when my relationship was that sweet and everything Daichi did seemed so cute. Those days won’t last long. Soon you’ll be throwing dirty shirts at him and complaining about how you’re not his mother,” Suga said with a far-off look in his eyes. Kenma knew Suga and Daichi had been dating since high school. He also knew that Suga didn’t really like when their friends called them the “perfect” couple.

“I can’t be that bad.” Noya said from his spot in Suga’s lap.

“No it’s not all bad. It’s just we’re an old married couple now. We had a fight about an area rug, we saw at the market. A fucking area rug. Once the fight was over I wanted to suffocate him with that damn rug.” Suga vented. “And don’t get me started on sex.”

“Wow you sound like my mom.” Noya said softly.

“I sound like my 35 year old sister. She’s been married for ten years and has two kids. But the sad thing is she’s having way more sex than I am.” Kenma shifted uncomfortably as Suga turned his hazel eyes onto him. “Hold onto the spark while it’s still burning.” Kenma looked away from Suga’s gaze.

“But you still love Daichi right? If you stopped loving him I would believe that love was dead.” Nishinoya said to Suga.

“Oh yeah. I love him with all my heart. I would die for him. I mean we’re entering the Drop, which is huge.” Suga clarified. Kenma thought he would be able to go the entire day without hearing about the Drop. “Are you guys applying for the Drop?” Suga asked.

Kenma had been helping Kuroo get the documents he needed to apply for the Drop. And news segments about it were becoming commonplace.

“Bokuto is applying. I can’t apply until next year.” Akaashi said. “He’s really excited about it, but I’m a bit more apprehensive. It’s a huge change. I mean I just got settled into my job and Bokuto travels a lot, so it’ll be a bit hectic.”

“I convinced Asahi to apply. He was super anxious about it, but I was able to persuade him.” Noya said with a mischievous glint in his brown eyes. Kenma had a pretty good guess about what Noya did to “persuade” Asahi.

“If you all are done gossiping over there, we’d like to pick our teams for the game.” Kuroo shouted at the group from the court.

They stood up from their circle and walked onto the court. They played an unnecessarily intense game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide captains. Iwazumi and Suga won.

The first person on Suga’s team was Oikawa, who was playing setter. Iwaizumi picked Daichi because needed someone that was good at defense. It went on like this until the teams were made. Suga tried to make a team consisting of four setters and a libero, but Iwaizumi ruined that when he picked Akaashi.

They were setting their game of five-on-five, when the doors to the gym swung open. An older man with graying black hair stepped into the gym and looked around. Kenma saw the way Bokuto tensed up at the sight of the man.

“What are you all doing here?” the man asked while eyeing them critically. “Did you break into my gym and use my school’s equipment without permission? This is considered trespassing.”

The group all turned and shot accusing looks at Bokuto. The man followed their eyes and looked at Bokuto.

“Coach Bokuto I assume you had something to do with this?” The man asked rhetorically. Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. “You were a bit of troublemaker when you attended this school. I thought you would have outgrown that by now.” Bokuto walked over to the man and tried to explain away the situation.

“I thought as coach, I had the right to use the practice gym whenever I needed it.” Bokuto said.

“I meant that in regards to the volleyball team, not to your…” The man trailed off as he looked directly at Asahi, Kuroo, Noya, and Kenma. “Delinquent friends.” he said with a huff.

“They’re not delinquents. Most of them have respectable jobs.” What did he mean by most? “I’m not entirely sure what Oikawa does, but I have the suspicion that he might be a host or a stripper. He’s sometimes too charming and his thighs are pretty thick, so I feel he’d be able to hang on a pole with them.” Bokuto rambled. Everyone visibly cringed at Bokuto’s word vomit. 

“I have a respectable job too!” Oikawa shouted in offense. “I write articles for  _ Volleyball Monthly _ and I model sportswear on occasion.” Fukurodani’s principal just stared at the group.

“I’ve heard enough. Bokuto please hand in your spare key. You can get it back once I feel that you deserve the privileges that come with it.” The man said with his hand outstretched. Bokuto dejectedly reached into the pocket of his athletic shorts and pulled the key to the gym out.

“Do you really have to take it?” he asked. The man just nodded his head and took the key.

“I want all of you out of here in ten minutes.” With that the principal was gone.

That was the last time they let Bokuto pick the venue for a volleyball game.

Bokuto was still sulking as they all sat down at a family restaurant.

“I’m sorry you guys. I thought I had the right to use the practice gym, but I was wrong as usual.” Bokuto huffed sadly. Akaashi reached over and patted him between the shoulders.

“You should’ve asked for permission anyway,” Akaashi said to his boyfriend. “Now you know better.”

After sulking for most of the meal, Bokuto was led home by Akaashi, while the rest of the group disband one after the other. Kenma and Kuroo decided not to ride back with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Instead, they took the train to their apartment.

Kenma and Kuroo had been walking from the train station in silence until Kuroo started to talk.

“So what was with Oikawa asking if you and I were dating?” He asked Kenma. Kenma had been engrossed in a game on his phone, which caused him to jump when Kuroo’s voice broke the silent air between them.

“I told them about what Oikawa said earlier in the apartment. And that led to me saying we weren’t dating. Oikawa didn’t believe me, so he asked you.” Kenma said with a shrug. To him is wasn’t a big deal, but a lot of things were big deals to his friends that weren’t important to him. 

“So what are we if we’re not dating?” Kuroo asked tentatively. He looked down at Kenma to see what his reaction was, but all he saw was Kenma shrug.

“We’re just us.” He answered simply. Kuroo hadn’t really thought about the status of his relationship with Kenma until Oikawa brought it up. He’d thought they were in some sort of tentative relationship, that toed the line between friendship and romantic. Kuroo would have gladly been Kenma’s boyfriend, but he knew Kenma didn’t like to overcomplicate things.

“But what is us?” Kuroo really wanted a definitive answer from the evasive boy he’d known for most of his life. “Because I’m kind of confused on what this is.” Kuroo said as he gestured between himself and Kenma.

Kenma was starting to get annoyed with the conversation. He thought Kuroo was on the same page as he was when it came to their relationship. Kenma felt that they had a bond that couldn’t be neatly packaged into one little box. Why couldn’t Kuroo just leave things as they were? Weren’t things working just fine?

“Why do want to define this so badly all of a sudden?” Kenma asked. Kuroo stopped on the sidewalk and looked at Kenma.

“Because I want to know that this is going somewhere and I’m not just signing myself up for a life of being friends with benefits.” Kuroo was also starting to get irritated and he knew that nothing would be solved if both he and Kenma were irritated. They were both stubborn. And Kuroo sometimes liked to provoke reactions out of people in order to get them to realize something.

Kenma tended to shut down when he was fed up with a topic. He would start answering with one word before walking away from the situation. But Kuroo was going to let him walk away from this situation.

“You never thought about this before, so why now after Oikawa brings it up.” Kenma had shoved his phone into his pocket and was staring at Kuroo.

“It’s always been at the back of my mind. I just didn’t want to bring it up because I didn’t know how you felt about the situation.” Kuroo answered.

“So I guess you want a definitive answer on what we are?” Kenma said. Kuroo nodded his head. Kenma ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Well I don’t have an answer to give you because I don’t feel the need to put every single relationship in my life into a box. Me and you have been together since we were kids. I have been there for you through every major change and decision you’ve made. Kenma could feel himself starting to breathe heavily.

“I have stood by as you’ve dated this person and that person and never once did I question you. But now because of one term, it seems that you are bringing into question everything I have ever felt for you. The reason I don’t feel the need to call you my boyfriend or say that we’re dating is because, I feel that what we are is so much bigger than those terms.” Kenma could feel his face starting to heat up as he ranted to Kuroo. Some of these thoughts had been stored inside of him for years.

Kenma could feel his eyes starting to burn the longer he looked at a silent Kuroo. Kenma was about to take off running, when Kuroo stepped toward him and wrapped him in a hug. Kenma contemplated fighting his way out of the hug, but decided against it as Kuroo rested his chin on his head.

“Why have you never told me this before?” Kuroo asked. Kenma just shrugged his shoulders as he sniffled. Kuroo could feel tears collecting in his own eyes. “That was a beautiful declaration of love.”

“I don’t love you.” Kenma mumbled into Kuroo shirt. Kuroo began to sway them.

“Yes you do.” He hummed.

“Do not.” Kenma lied as he wrapped his arms around Kuroo’s waist and scrunched his fingers in the back of his shirt. He didn’t want to ever let Kuroo go.

“Well I love you and I’m sorry I made you feel like your feelings weren’t significant.” Kuroo said as he pressed a kiss to the top of Kenma’s head.

Kuroo released Kenma and dragged the two of them back to their apartment. That night as they lay side by side in their bed, Kenma turned to Kuroo and sighed.

“I love you too.” Kenma whispered to him before he turned over and pulled the covers over his head. Kenma could feel his cheeks burning.

“Stay with me?” Kuroo whispered into the quiet of the night before slinging an arm around Kenma’s waist. Kenma looked at Kuroo’s hand before lacing their fingers together and squeezing.

“Forever.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this second chapter!!! If you did enjoy please leave a comment, a kudos, or bookmark this fic. Next chapter: Applications for the Drop open and family time.


	3. Freak Out and Make Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma and Oikawa have a chat. Kenma and Kuroo talk about some things and maybe makeout a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone that has supported this story so far!!!! You guys are what keeps me writing. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story and don't be afraid to offer me some ideas or some constructive criticism. 
> 
> So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!!!

Kenma was sitting in his favorite cafe, which happened to be owned by Asahi and Sugawara. He was slowly devouring his second piece of apple pie, while he waited for Oikawa to show up. Oikawa had been texting and calling him since they got into their fight. Kenma had finally decided to give in when Oikawa mailed him a four-page letter. 

“Do you want another piece of pie?” Asahi asked as he walked by the table. Kenma thought about it for a bit before answering. 

“Nah. But could I get a glass of water.” 

“Do you want your check?” 

“Oikawa is on his way so he'll be paying for this.” Kenma answered. Just because he was going to forgive Oikawa didn't mean, he wasn't going to get back at him. 

“Looks like you started without me.” Oikawa said as he took a seat across from Kenma. Oikawa was dressed in a light blue button-down shirt and slim fit black pants. He looked like a responsible adult that had his life together, but Kenma knew that beneath the pretty wrapping Oikawa was a nerdy mess. 

Kenma looked down at his outfit. He was wearing a Zelda shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. Half of his hair was pulled back and his roots were half grown out. He looked like some ratty kid that hung around the arcades all day.

“Hey Oikawa,” Asahi greeted as he handed Kenma his glass of water. “What can I get you?”

“I would like a glass iced tea with lemon and a milk bread,” Oikawa answered. Asahi walked away to put in Oikawa’s order. “So how have you been?” Kenma looked up at Oikawa and shrugged.

“ Kuroo and I got into a disagreement.” Kenma mumbled.

“What was it about?” Oikawa asked eagerly. He knew that Kenma and Kuroo didn't fight often. Oikawa knew it had to be something important.

“That stupid question you asked him at the volleyball game.” Kenma told Oikawa with a glare. 

“The one about if you two were a couple?” Oikawa asked. Kenma nodded his head. “It was a question that needed to be put out into the open. You can't just expect Kuroo to wait around for you to acknowledge your relationship.” Kenma rolled his eyes at Oikawa. 

“We talked about it and I told him how I felt about it. We're good now.” Kenma said. He didn't truly believe that, but he wanted it to be true. Kenma could feel Oikawa staring at him skeptically. 

“You and I both know that's bullshit. Kuroo loves you with every fiber of his being and you know that. So why don't you just say he's your boyfriend?” Oikawa snapped at Kenma. Kenma looked down into his glass of water. This wasn't what he thought he would be talking about when he agreed to meet up with Oikawa. If he wanted to he bombarded with thoughts about the fight with Kuroo he would have stayed in his apartment. 

“I don't feel that a simple word can sum up what Kuroo and I have. We've been friends for years and we've always been by each other's side. I can't fully explain it but I know that just calling him my boyfriend is going to sum it up.” Kenma felt the need to get his point across to Oikawa. 

Oikawa was starting to get riled up by Kenma’s words. 

“And? I've been friends with Iwa-chan since we were babies, so I think I understand what you're saying. I'm just saying maybe you should have a serious talk with Kuroo about your relationship.” Oikawa told Kenma. Oikawa could tell that Kenma was slowly starting to tune him out. 

Asahi finally returned to their table with Oikawa’s order. He appeared to be nervous as he looked around the cafe. 

“Uh...could you guys please keep your voices down,” Asahi said with an anxious smile. “Some customers have been complaining.” 

“Sorry. We'll keep it down.” Oikawa said as he took a sip of his iced tea. Asahi smiled at them graciously before walking back to the counter. 

Oikawa and Kenma sat in silence until Oikawa decided to speak again. 

“Is Kuroo the only person you've been serious about?” Oikawa asked with a mouthful of milk bread. Kenma thought about it for a moment. 

“Shouyou and I did try something in high school, but nothing really came of it. There was this one girl, but all we did was go to each other's house and play video games,” Kenma thought out loud. “So yes. Kuroo is my first and only serious relationship.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe you're afraid to define your relationship because you feel like Kuroo could do better? So you forcefully keep him from getting too close?” Oikawa asked Kenma quietly. Kenma tensed up at Oikawa's words. He felt like his soul was bared as Oikawa spoke to him. 

Kenma was starting to feel cornered, so he stood up abruptly and fled the cafe. Kenma stumbled out onto the sidewalk and clumsily made his way to his apartment. Kenma could feel his breathing starting to pick up. He only had two blocks until he made it to the safety of his apartment. 

He couldn't take being surrounded by the sounds and strangers on the street anymore, so took off running to his apartment. He needed to get Oikawa's incessant voice out of his head. 

Kenma silently rejoiced when he ran into the parking lot of his apartment building. He took the stairs to the third floor two at a time. Once he made it to his door, he couldn't tell if the tightness in his chest was from running or from his impending breakdown. 

He shakily inserted his key into the door before stumbling in and kicking off his shoes. Kenma didn't make it past the living room before he sank to the ground. Kenma brought his knees up to his chest and tried to take deep breaths. Tears were slowly falling from his face and onto his jeans.

He really wished Kuroo had been home to help him through this. Why had Oikawa's questions shaken him up so badly? It probably had to do with the fact that it was true. Kuroo had so much to offer someone, but he'd ended up picking him. Kenma always felt like the rug would be pulled out from under him, so he tried to keep his more serious feelings hidden away. 

But by hiding his true feelings he'd been hurting Kuroo. It seemed like whatever he did would backfire. Someday Kuroo would grow tired of Kenma dancing around their relationship. Kenma was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the front door open. 

“I’m ba-” Kuroo stopped talking when he Kenma curled in on himself in the middle of the doorway. Quietly Kuroo walked over and took Kenma’s tear stained face into his hands. He silently wiped away Kenma's tears. 

Kuroo watched as Kenma's eyes slowly started to come back into focus as his breathing slowed. Kenma looked into Kuroo's soft brown eyes and tried to form a sentence.

“I...I'm sorry...I'm not giving you what you want.” Kenma cried. Kuroo nuzzled the top of Kenma's head. 

“Why are you apologizing? You're everything I could ever want and need.” Kuroo said as he started to get choked up. He needed Kenma to know that he was more than enough for him. Kuroo didn't want anyone else. Kenma was it for him. Kuroo would go to his grave loving Kenma. And he needed Kenma to understand that. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“You could do better.” Kenma sniffed. Kuroo shook his head to negate Kenma's statement. 

“Nothing is better than you,” Kuroo said as he looked Kenma straight in the eyes. Kenma's big, teary gold eyes stared back at Kuroo. “You're not getting rid of me that easily. One of us would have to die in order to get me to leave you and even then I'd find a way to still be with you.” Kuroo rested his forehead against Kenma’s.

“You're so sappy.” Kenma complained. Kuroo chuckled softly before placing a kiss his on Kenma's nose. Kenma wrinkled his nose. 

“I just want you to know that I am not going anywhere. You, Kozume Kenma, are it for me. We,” Kuroo said as he motioned at the two of them. “Are meant to be together.” 

Kenma could feel his cheeks starting to heat up. He knew Kuroo was a hopeless romantic, but he never expected to have such sappy words directed at him. 

“You're so embarrassing.” Kenma said as he hid his face in his hands. Kuroo laughed at the sight of a flustered Kenma. It didn't occur very often. 

“I don't care if you never call me your boyfriend because now I know that I mean the world to you. And I am going to spend the rest of my life showing you that you mean the world to me.” Kuroo could feel his face heating up along with Kenma's the longer he spoke. 

“Can you stop talking?” Kenma asked Kuroo. Kuroo nodded his head and shut his mouth. Kenma removed his hands from his face and looked at Kuroo. He could see Kuroo fidgeting with his hands. “I...l...love...you.” Kenma stuttered quietly before he stood up on shaky legs and scampered to the bedroom. He burrowed under the covers and tried to calm the of his face. 

“You can't just leave me like that,” Kuroo shouted as barged into the room. He yanked the covers off of Kenma and crawled on top of him. “I think you need to pay for leaving like that.” Kuroo said with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a calculating smirk. 

Kuroo straddled Kenma and put his hands on Kenma's waist. He slowly leaned in toward Kenma. Kenma unconsciously started to move to meet Kuroo halfway. As they got closer, Kenma could feel their breath begin to mingle. Kuroo's lips brushed lightly against Kenma's slightly chapped lips. Kenma was in the process of wrapping his arms around Kuroo's neck when the bastard reached up and started to tickle Kenma's armpits. 

Kenma bucked in surprise. He tried to squirm away from Kuroo's fingers, but his efforts were stopped when Kuroo clenched his large, muscular thighs around Kenma's legs.

“This is payback.” Kuroo laughed as he watched Kenma laugh and try to get away. Kenma's face was red from laughter and his hair was coming undone and tossed and turned. “If you tell me you love me I'll let you go.” 

Kenma could feel his abdomen start to tense up the longer he laughed. If Kuroo didn't stop soon, Kenma knew he probably burst a vein or something.

“Okay...okay…” Kenma huffed while laughing. “I love you. Now stop.” Kenma conceded. Kuroo's fingers immediately stopped and fell away from Kenma. In the momentary silence, their heavy breathing filled the room. Kenma thought about retaliating but decided it would take too much energy. 

Kuroo rolled off of Kenma and laid down next to him. Kenma's hair was splayed out around his head and his cheeks were rosy and their a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. He looked beautiful to Kuroo. Kuroo propped himself up and leaned over Kenma. Kenma looked up at Kuroo and smiled. Kenma reached up and tangled his hands in Kuroo's unruly hair, which he used to bring Kuroo's lips to his.

Kuroo returned Kenma’s kiss with fervor. He changed his position in order to better kiss Kenma. Kenma ran his tongue across the seam of Kuroo’s lips in an attempt to get him to open his mouth. Kuroo smirked at Kenma’s efforts but stubbornly kept his mouth closed. Kenma decided to try a different approach, so he bit Kuroo’s bottom lip and pulled his head back. Kuroo hissed at the slight sting in his lip. This was enough of an opening for Kenma to shove his tongue into Kuroo’s mouth. 

Kenma ran his tongue over Kuroo’s and smirked triumphantly when he heard him moan into the kiss. Kuroo moved his tongue into Kenma’s mouth and the two commenced in a wet make out session. 

Kenma ran his hand up the back of Kuroo’s shirt and lightly dragged his nails down the length of his back. Kuroo shuddered in pleasure. Kuroo could taste cinnamon and apples on Kenma’s tongue. Both of their breath was coming out in erratic puffs, so Kuroo pulled away from Kenma’s mouth and started to trail wet kisses down the length of Kenma’s neck.

Kenma gasped in pleasure as Kuroo kissed and lightly bit at the junction where his collarbone connected to his neck. Kenma tackled his fingers into Kuroo’s hair and pulled slightly. Kenma laughed huskily at the sound Kuroo made in the back of his throat. 

Tugging on the edge of Kuroo’s shirt, Kenma slowly started to push fabric up towards Kuroo’s shoulders. Sitting up, Kuroo pulled the shirt off and did the same to Kenma. Kuroo returned to hovering over Kenma and leaned his head down towards Kenma’s ear. He kissed the skin beneath Kenma’s ear before taking the hoop, that went through the cartilage of Kenma’s ear, between his teeth. He gave it a playful tug, which earned him a nipple being pinched.

“You’re being awfully tame today, Kuro.” Kenma panted as he raised himself up onto his forearms. Kuroo sat up and ran a hand through his tangled hair. Kenma teasingly pushed his hips upward towards Kuroo’s crotch. Kuroo smirked down at Kenma and started to roll his hips in response. 

Things were starting to heat up when a shrill ringing went off. Kuroo groaned loudly at the sound of the ringing. He peeled himself away from Kenma and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. 

Kuroo looked at his screen and saw that Daichi was calling him. 

“What do you want, Sawamura?” Kuroo snapped at his friend. 

“Turn your TV to channel three.” Daichi said in an urgent tone. Kuroo walked into the living room and turned on his TV. 

“We bring to you breaking news from the Office of the Drop.” The screen transitioned to a man standing in front of a building. 

“The Office of the Drop has just announced that they will be changing the format for the applications. Masako Nomura, the chairwoman of the Drop, announced just a few minutes ago that the applications for the Drop will only be open for two days,” The reporter on the screen said. “She also went on to say that the application date has been moved up. When asked why the date was moved up, Nomura said it was due to the number of international applicants.” 

“This isn’t fair.” Kuroo breathed into his phone. Not only did they shorten the application window, but they also decided to move it up. 

“The Drop applications will open at 4:30 a.m.,” This was complete bullshit. “The applications will only be open for two days, so please make sure you get your application in as soon as possible. You can apply online or in person at the Office of the Drop.” 

“This is not okay.” Kuroo could hear Daichi say. “The applications open in about ten hours.” Daichi said. Kuroo looked at the clock on his wall and saw that it was six o’clock. 

“I heard that they received a large “donation” from some of the international applicants.” Kuroo heard Suga shout on the other side of the phone. “There’s no way they’re gonna pick any of us. We’re young and we don’t have huge paychecks.” 

“But is that going to stop you from applying?” Daichi asked his irritated boyfriend. Kuroo couldn’t hear Suga’s reply, but he figured it was a yes. 

“Do the others know about this change?” Kuroo asked Daichi.

“Suga was on the phone with Oikawa and I just sent a text to Bokuto and Asahi.” Daichi was interrupted by Suga.

“Noya just messaged me saying that Asahi is walking around their apartment stress cleaning.” Suga laughed at Asahi’s expense. “He's come a long way, though. If this were high school he would  
have collapsed.” 

Kuroo always found Suga’s borderline torture of Asahi amusing. For someone with such an angelic face, Sugawara Koushi was a devious bastard. 

“So that’s all I called about. I have to go before Suga kills me because tonight is date night.” Daichi told Kuroo. 

“I’ll let you go, grandpa.” Kuroo said before hanging up his phone. He put his head into his hands and groaned. Kenma had just walked out of their bedroom.

“What did Daichi want?” He asked Kuroo. Kuroo looked up and stared at Kenma.

“The government is screwing us over.” 

“When isn’t the government screwing us over?” Kenma said as he sat next to Kuroo. 

“The Drop applications open at 4 a.m. And the application window is only two days.” Kuroo told Kenma.

“Who made this decision?” Kenma asked. The Drop application was always open for at least a week. Why would they shrink to such a small amount of him? 

“Suga thinks some bribes may be the cause.” 

“So...I guess you're going to be applying?” Kenma looked over at Kuroo and watched as he ran his hand over his face.

“Yep.” Kuroo nodded. 

That night Kenma fell asleep while Kuroo tossed and turned. He spent hours thinking about what could go wrong while he filled out his application for the Drop. One of the biggest things that could possibly happen to his life was within reach. But he also knew that it could be ripped away from him just as quickly as it appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!!! Please leave a comment, a kudos, or bookmark this fic. That is what keeps me going. I enjoy seeing even the simplest of comments. I also enjoy looking at what you guys think is going on. 
> 
> We are getting closer to figuring out what the DROP is. I have also decided that I want this story to be about both Kuroo and Kenma, so you guys will be seeing more of Kuroo's side of things.
> 
> Next chapter: Applications for the Drop open. Our lovely couples find out if they've been selected to participate or not.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter shows Kuroo's work life. In this chapter are two original characters that I got attached to, so expect to see more of them later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support!!! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story.

During the night Kenma rolled over and reached out for Kuroo, but felt nothing on his side of the bed. Confused, Kenma opened one eye and was assaulted by the bright light coming from Kuroo’s laptop. Kenma sat up and saw Kuroo pacing in front of their bed. The Drop application obviously stressing him out.

At the sound of the covers on the bed rustling, Kuroo looked up and saw Kenma looking at him.

“Did I wake you?” Kuroo asked. Kenma nodded his head before falling back onto the bed. Kuroo stopped his pacing and sat down on the bed. He pulled his laptop into his lap and refreshed the browser without looking at the time. He knew that if he looked at the time he would get even more stressed out.

when the page finished refreshing a sign-in screen greeted him. Kuroo looked at the screen wide-eyed before quickly setting up an account. Kenma could see the screen of the laptop reflected in the glasses Kuroo wore.

Once his account was set up he was taken to another screen where he was able to start the process of applying for the Drop. The questions started off simple. They asked about his income, his job, and his marital status. Kenma leaned on Kuroo's shoulder and watched as he meticulously filled out the application.

In the middle of filling out the application, Kuroo’s phone began to ring. Kuroo sighed and looked at Kenma. Huffing, Kenma grabbed the phone for Kuroo and without looking at the caller ID, Kenma answered the phone.

“What?” he asked. Kenma knew of only two people that would have the audacity to call Kuroo at four o’clock in the morning. Kenma could hear rustling on the other end of the phone.

“Have you started filling out the application?” Bokuto asked frantically. Kenma pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker. “This is a lot of information they want.”

“Of course they need a lot of information. It’s the government, when don’t they want our information.” Kuroo answered with a tired sigh. “It seems like these questions are never ending.”

“I know. Akaashi had to help me find most of the documents they’re asking for. They’re asking if I take any medication or if I’ve been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issues.” Bokuto told Kuroo. Kenma knew those questions were probably trying to weed out people they viewed as “unstable” or “unfit”. “I mean I was diagnosed with depression in college and I took medication for that.”

“Knowing these people they’ll probably penalize you for that. With this system, we might be playing a losing game.” Kuroo huffed cynically.

“What do you mean?” Bokuto asked his disheartened friend.

“I mean that we’re unmarried, which is one strike against us. We’re young. And we’re gay. That’s three strikes against us, which means we’re already out before the game has even begun.” Kuroo usually didn’t speak in sports metaphors unless he was exhausted. Kuroo knew he had dark bags starting to form under his eyes and he could feel the wrinkle between his eyebrows getting deeper.

“I’m going to need you to take your pessimistic attitude and put it away. You need to think positive.” Bokuto chirped. Kuroo and Kenma were always amazed at how Bokuto could be so chipper so early in the morning.

“I’m going to need you to stop telling me what to do.” Kuroo snapped at his best friend. Kenma smacked Kuroo on the shoulder and looked at him disapprovingly. He knew Kuroo wasn’t seriously upset with Bokuto, but Kenma knew how quick to make assumptions Bokuto could be. Kenma grabbed Kuroo’s phone from him and Kuroo it was for the best.

“Kuroo’s going to talk to you later.” He told Bokuto before hanging up and throwing Kuroo’s phone and tossing onto a pile of clothes in the corner of the room. “Finish applying and try to get some sleep in. You have work in a few hours.” Kenma said as he grabbed one of his pillows and walked out of the room.

Kuroo groaned at the reminder of work. He knew his alarm would go off at six.

“Well, I’m not getting any sleep tonight.” Kuroo mumbled to himself as he stared back at the laptop. He delved back into the long questionnaire he’d just started. The text before he started the questionnaire said this would help the committee decide if he was fit to participate in the Drop. Kuroo nearly rejoiced when he reached the end of the application.

Kuroo scanned to make sure that he’d filled everything out correctly before he pressed the ‘submit’ button. Once he saw that it was submitted, Kuroo closed his laptop and laid down. He closed his heavy eyes with a sigh and gave himself over to the clutches of sleep.

* * *

****

Kuroo yawned loudly as he walked into the staff room at school. He let his bag fall to the ground with a thump, while he plopped down into his desk chair. He stared at the papers that were sitting on his desk and groaned.

Kuroo yawned loudly as he walked into the staff room at school. He let his bag fall to the ground with a thump, while he plopped down into his desk chair. He stared at the papers that were sitting on his desk and groaned.

He’d only gotten thirty minutes of sleep. He thought about calling in sick, but he knew he shouldn’t uselessly waste his sick days. Kuroo was still staring at his desk when he saw a cup of coffee being placed next to him. Kuroo looked up from his desk and saw his co-worker, Sakumichi, standing behind him.

“You look rough.” Sakumichi said as he took a sip of his coffee. Kuroo grabbed his own cup and took a tentative sip. Kuroo choked at the strong taste.

“Who the hell made this?” Kuroo asked as he went back for another sip. It tasted like tar and he could feel the caffeine starting to flow through his body.

“The vice principal. He likes his coffee extra strong and caffeinated,” Sakumichi explained. “It should put a little pep in your step.”

“This shit is going to put more than a pep in my step. I feel like I’m going to be awake for the rest of the week. There’s no way I’m finishing the entire thing.” Kuroo said as he put the drink back onto his desk. Sakumichi chuckled at Kuroo before he walked back over to his desk.

Kuroo turned back to face his desk. He pulled out his lesson plans and looked it over. The bell rang shortly after signaling the start of the school day. Kuroo slowly got out of his chair and walked to his homeroom class.

Most of the students of Class 2-3 were sitting in their seats, except one boy with shaggy black hair with his bangs held back by a headband. Kuroo walked over to the boy, who was sitting on the desk of his friend. They were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice Kuroo standing behind them.

“Takao and Akabane,” called to the two boys. They both looked in his direction with lazy smiles. “I see your conversation is more important than your education.” Kuroo said as Takao slid off of Akabane’s desk.

“Sorry, we didn’t notice you’d walked in.” Akabane said apologetically as Takao slinked back to his desk.

“Well, I’ll be seeing you guys after school for detention.” Kuroo said as he walked back to the front of the classroom. Takao and Akabane made noises of disagreement.

“We have a practice game today. We can’t be late.” Takao cried out.

“Coach Naoi is going to bench us if we come in late. We can’t be benched, we’re starters.” Akabane lamented. Kuroo smirked at the boys.

“Well, you should’ve thought about that while you two were having your little gossip session.” Kuroo watched as Akabane and Takao sat back in their seats in defeat.

After resolving that conflict, Kuroo picked up the students homework for the night before and started his lesson. The time with his homeroom breezed by and before he knew it he had to move on to his next class. As the day progressed, Kuroo started to feel more and more sluggish. The effects of the coffee he’d had earlier were starting to wear off and he was left with a headache.

At the end of the day, Kuroo almost forgot that he gave Takao and Akabane detention. He sat with the two boys in their homeroom. Takao Shiori and Akabane Hikaru were both starters on the volleyball team. Kuroo had known the boys since their first year since he was their homeroom teacher and coach. Takao and Akabane were always near each other. He knew that if he saw one he would surely see the other.

The boys reminded Kuroo of himself when he was younger. He also knew that Takao’s family life wasn’t the best. Kuroo also knew that Akabane moved from his hometown to Tokyo after seeing Nekoma playing in Nationals when he was in 6th grade. He’d taken the exam to get into Nekoma and was admitted, so he lives with his uncle, who is usually away on business. Kuroo had slowly grown attached to the two boys and sometimes felt like they were his younger brothers.

“Why do you two insist on making trouble for me?” Kuroo asked the boys as they were walking from detention to the gym. Takao threw his arm around Kuroo’s shoulder and laughed.

“We just want to add a little spice to your dull life, Kuroo.” Takao said.

“Don’t go getting all informal with me. It’s Kuroo-sensei to you two.” Kuroo said as he opened the door to the gym. He shooed Takao and Akabane off to the locker room, while he walked over to the bench.

Coach Naoi looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Why are they late?” he asked.

“They got detention.” Kuroo answered as he watched the boys on the court play against another team from their prefecture.

“When will those boys learn.” Coach Naoi said while shaking his head. Since their starting setter was getting changed, their first-year setter, Hashimoto, was filling in.

“Hashimoto seems to have gotten stronger.” Kuroo said as he watched the boy send a nice toss to one of their wing spikers. “We just need to work on his speed a little bit and get his confidence up.”

“I agree, but I think the confidence thing will come with time.” Coach Naoi said as Akabane and Takao came running out of the locker room. “You boys go stand with the other substitutes. Takao we put Hashimoto in your spot and he’s showing a lot of potential. That means if you keep getting in trouble, your spot will be taken from you. Also, Akabane if you are striving to be this team’s ace that means you can’t be showing up late and getting benched.”  
The boys apologized to Coach Naoi and ran over to the rest of the team. Kuroo smirked at Coach Naoi’s tough act knowing it was just that.

“You think that’ll whip them into shape?” Kuroo asked. Coach Naoi chuckled softly and shook his head.

“I sure hope so.” Coach Naoi and Kuroo watched as the practice match and wrote down some of the issues they saw with each player that got time on the court. Takao and Akabane stayed on the sidelines like they were told.

When the match was over the teams shook hands and offered each other words of encouragement. Once the gym was cleaned and everything was put away, the team was dismissed. Kuroo hauled his bag onto his shoulder and headed in the direction of the train station. He saw that he was headed in the same direction as some of the other boys. He watched as they joked around and discussed the practice match.

Watching the kids, Kuroo was hit was a feeling of nostalgia. He remembered walking to home from practice matches with Kenma, Yaku, and Kai. He could clearly picture Kenma and Yaku rolling their eyes at Lev’s incessant chatter. Where had all of that time gone?

Kuroo was still reminiscing as he rode the train back to his apartment.

When Kuroo got off at his station, he felt like he was being watched. Kuroo looked around and didn't see anyone suspicious. When he turned around to continue towards his apartment, he saw a shadowed figure standing against a street light.

As Kuroo walked by the person cautiously he could make out a familiar uniform.

“Takao what are you doing here?” Kuroo asked as he got closer to the boy. Takao turned to Kuroo and laughed nervously.

“I was just in the neighborhood.” He said with a shrug.

“Why are you really following me around?” Kuroo asked. Takao sighed and shrugged his bag higher onto his shoulder. He turned his head away from Kuroo.

“Could I stay at your place tonight?” Takao mumbled. Kuroo hooked his arm around Takao’s shoulder and led him to his apartment. Even though he knew he could get into trouble for letting Takao stay at his apartment he couldn’t let the boy wander around town alone.

Kuroo unlocked his apartment door and took his shoes off. He looked into the living room and saw Kenma sitting on the couch playing a game.

“I’m back.” Kuroo called to Kenma.

“Welcome back.” Kenma answered distractedly.

“I brought a stray with me.” Kuroo called as he looked at Takao take his shoes off.

“Is it Shiori?” Kenma asked as he paused his game and looked toward Kuroo.

“Who else would it be?” Takao peaked out from behind Kenma and bowed politely.

“Pardon the intrusion.” Takao apologized. Kenma waved him off and turned back to his game.

“Make yourself at home.” Kenma said as he started his game back up. Kuroo pushed Takao over to the couch while he walked to the kitchen.

“Did you go grocery shopping Kenma?” Kuroo asked.

“I knew I forgot to do something today.” Kenma mumbled. Kuroo groaned.

“I guess we’re eating take out tonight.” Kuroo said. “I’ll go pick up some ramen from that place down the street.”

“Could you pick up some ice cream?” Kenma asked Kuroo.

“No. We would have ice cream if you would’ve gone shopping today.” Kuroo scolded Kenma. Kenma rolled his eyes at Kuroo. Kuroo left the apartment and headed for the hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served great ramen.

On his walk back to his apartment, Kuroo’s phone chirped with a notification. Kuroo pulled out his phone and looked at the text that Bokuto left him.

 _‘Do u and kenma want to come over and eat with_ Kaashi _and me?’_ Bokuto texted him.

 _‘Sorrrrrrry :( we have a guest over tonight.’_ Kuroo messaged back.

_‘Who’s over?’_

_‘Takao.’_

_‘Is he having problems with his parents again?’_ Bokuto knew about Takao’s home situation. He also knew about how Kuroo would let him stay over sometimes.

 _‘I didn’t ask, but probably.’_ Kuroo answered just as he made it to the door of his apartment.

 _‘I’ll text u later.”_ Bokuto messaged back as Kuroo stepped into his apartment. Kenma and Takao were still sitting on the couch. Takao was holding the game controller now as Kenma showed him what to do.

“I’m back.” Kuroo placed the food on the coffee table before walking to the kitchen and grabbing some cups and a bottle of juice. By the time he’d made it back to the living room, Kenma and Takao were already digging into the food.

“How’d the practice match go?” Kenma asked Kuroo and Takao.

“I wasn’t able to play.” Takao said as he glared at Kuroo. “ _Kuroo-sensei_ gave me and Akabane detention, so we were late to the match and we had to stay on the sidelines.”

“Well, troublemakers do not get rewarded.” Kuroo said wisely. Takao just rolled his eyes and went back to eating his ramen. After finishing their dinner, the three boys stayed up a little bit longer playing some video games or rather Kenma annihilating Takao and Kuroo at almost every game they played.

When they finally decided to call it a night, Kuroo led Takao to their extra room and pulled out the spare futon they kept. Kuroo gave him a few blankets and a pillow.

“You know where the bathroom is. So good night.” Kuroo said as he prepared to leave the room. Takao looked up from the futon.

“Thanks for letting me stay here.” Takao said with a small smile. Kuroo smiled back at him before turning off the light.

“Anytime.”

When Kuroo woke up the next morning to check on Takao he saw that the extra room was empty. The futon had been folded and put back into the closet. Takao’s bag and shoes were gone from the doorway. Kuroo didn’t know why he was still surprised by this. Takao was always gone the morning after he stayed over.

Sighing Kuroo went about his normal morning routine. He whipped up a quick breakfast for himself and Kenma. Kenma shuffled out of the bedroom groggily.

“Did Shiori leave already?” Kenma asked as he sat down at the table.

“Yep,” Kuroo answered as he placed the breakfast on the table. “He was gone before I woke up the morning.”

They ate their breakfast in silence until Kuroo’s phone started ringing. Kuroo groaned and grabbed his phone from his bag that sitting next to the table.

“Hello.” he answered. Kuroo could hear shuffling on the other end of the line before he heard heavy breathing.

“Have you checked your email?” Bokuto shouted at him.

“No. Why?” he asked his worked up friend.

“I just got an email from the Drop Committee saying that my results were already in and that I should check my account to see if I was picked to participate.” Bokuto shouted rapidly. Kuroo could feel his eyes widen. He stared straight at Kenma, who put his chopsticks down and raised an eyebrow at Kuroo.

“Thanks for the heads up. Have you checked it yet?” Kuroo asked.

“No, I’m waiting until I get home from work today. I don’t want to be all sad if I didn’t get picked.” Bokuto answered. That was a smart choice on Bokuto’s part.

“I’ll call you when I check this afternoon. We’ll check our results together.” Kuroo said to his friend. Bokuto agreed with his plan and hung up.

“What’s going on?” Kenma asked as Kuroo ran a hand over his face.

“The results for the Drop are in.” Kuroo answered simply. Kenma’s eyes widened. He knew how odd it was for results to be in this early.

“Someone is speeding up this process.” Kenma said with a tone of finality. Kuroo couldn’t help but agree. Usually it took two weeks for the results to come in, but this time, it only took 24 hours. This was not the simple doing of the government. Somebody had to be giving them some sort of incentive to speed up the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!!!!


	5. Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The results of the Drop are revealed for some...they're drinking either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that is still reading this story!!! Hope you guys continue to enjoy it!!! You can also follow me on Tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/blog/captain-nocturnalwanderlust

Kuroo went through his work day worrying about the results that were waiting for him. He kept spacing out during the day. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of someone rigging the process. Kuroo couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't going to go the way he was expecting.

When Kuroo finally made it home, Kenma was sitting in the living room with his laptop. The TV was playing some rerun of a drama. Kenma’s hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail. Kuroo dropped his bag at the door and toed off his shoes before plopping down onto the couch next to Kenma.

“Welcome back,” Kenma mumbled. Kenma looked over at Kuroo and could see the crease between his brows. “So when are you going to check?” Kenma asked. Kuroo groaned before shrugging.

“I told Bo we would check together so I'm waiting for him to text him,” Kuroo answered. Kenma nodded his head and turned back to his laptop. Kuroo stood up from the couch and walked into the bedroom. He was in the middle of taking off his shirt when his phone began to ring. Kuroo grabbed his phone and answered. “Hello.”

“Did you know Drop results were in?” Iwaizumi asked without a greeting.

“Yeah, Bokuto called and told me this morning before I left for work.” Kuroo answered. Iwaizumi groaned.

“Shit. Oikawa is going to freak out when he gets here.” Iwaizumi grumbled. Iwaizumi was about to say something else when Kuroo heard a door slam on the other end of the phone. “Hurricane Oikawa has just made landfall.” Kuroo could hear things opening and slamming while Iwaizumi sighed.

“Is he okay?” Kuroo asked.

“For now. Shit.” Iwaizumi interjected.

“What happened?” Kuroo asked worriedly.

“He found his laptop that I was hiding,” Iwaizumi answered. Kuroo could hear Oikawa talking to Iwaizumi excitedly. Kuroo was about to ask Iwaizumi a question when Iwaizumi started talking to Oikawa. “What's wrong?”

Kuroo couldn't hear the reply, but he heard stomping and the slamming of a door.

“What happened?” Kuroo asked. He knew something bad had happened.

“The Drop Committee denied his application. He wanted to make it through so bad.” Iwaizumi answered with a sigh. “I'll call you later. I have to go check on him.” Kuroo hung up the phone and sat down on his bed. Now he dreaded looking at his results even more.

Kuroo laid back and threw an arm over his eyes. Everything seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Kuroo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Whatever happens, happens,” he told himself as his phone began to ring again. Kuroo lifted the phone to his ear. “Hello.”

“Are you ready to check your results?” Bokuto asked him excitedly.

“Not really.” Kuroo mumbled to his friend.

“Why not?”

“Because I feel like the odds are stacked against me.” Kuroo answered. That wasn’t the only reason. The speed at which the process was going also led him to believe he wasn’t going to be receiving a positive answer. Also, Oikawa’s rejection had shaken him up a bit.

“You can’t think so negatively. You have to put out positivity if you want to get positivity back.” Bokuto rambled. Kuroo shook his head at his friend’s simply ideology.

“I guess it’s now or never,” Kuroo said as he opened up his laptop and waited for it to boot up. “This has been stressing me out all day.”

“Same here. I got hit in the face a couple of times with a volleyball because I wasn’t paying attention.” Bokuto said.

“I feel like that’s an everyday occurrence with you.” Kuroo joked in an attempt to ease his nerves. Kuroo could feel his heart start to beat a bit faster as he pulled up the Drop’s website. Kuroo could hear the tapping of computer keys on the other side of the phone. Kuroo took his time logging in. He wasn’t ready to see the answer.

“Are you logged in?” Bokuto asked him in a hushed voice. Kuroo looked at the greeting screen that showed up after he logged in.

“Yeah.” Kuroo croaked out. His mouse hovered over the tab that said “Results”. Kuroo could hear Bokuto take a deep breath. “No matter what the answer is…” Kuroo trailed off.

“We have to accept it and try again later.” Bokuto finished. “I just really hope I don’t have to reapply.”

“Are you ready?” Kuroo asked shakily.

“Yeah,” Bokuto whispered. “Here goes.” He said. Kuroo closed his eyes and clicked on the tab his mouse had been hovering over. Kuroo couldn’t hear anything from Bokuto’s end.

“Have you looked?” Kuroo asked his friend with his eyes still closed.

“Nope. I’m too nervous.” Bokuto answered. “So on the count of three, we’ll both look and read what we see to each other.” Bokuto proposed.

“Okay...one…..”

“....two….two and a half….” Bokuto stalled. Kuroo couldn’t blame him. Kuroo felt like his heart was going to escape through his mouth. His hands were also shaking. He hadn’t even been this nervous when his college entrance exam results came in.

“....two and three-fourths…” Kuroo said in an attempt to prolong the inevitable. “We gotta bite the bullet at some put.” Kuroo told Bokuto.

“Three!” His friend shouted frantically into the phone. Kuroo opened his eyes slowly and read the opening lines of the passage in front of him.

“Thank you for applying to this year’s Drop. After reviewing your application, we reject to inform you....” Kuroo could hear Bokuto read the same line as he was. They didn’t to read any further to know that they were not picked as candidates. Kuroo skimmed the rest of the letter and scoffed at some of the reasons why he was denied.

“This is complete and utter bullshit.” Kuroo could hear from Bokuto’s side of the phone, but the voice didn’t belong to Bokuto. “This system is rigged. They denied you because of some past issues you faced. These people are fucking scum.” Kuroo could hear Akaashi seethe.

“I got denied because I am unmarried, not wealthy enough and because I live with another person. Oh wait I forgot my favorite reason.” Kuroo said sarcastically. He cleared his throat dramatically before reading. “Due to your alternative lifestyle choices, we feel that you are unfit to continue the Drop process.” Kuroo couldn’t help but laugh humorlessly at that last line.

“So the main reason they denied you is because you’re pansexual?” Akaashi asked for clarification.

“Yep. I was denied because I don’t care about the gender of my romantic and sexual partners.” Kuroo jumped at the weight that fell onto his side. Kuroo turned and saw Kenma leaning against him. He could see his eyes running over the screen of his laptop.

“What a load of shit,” Kenma mumbled as he closed Kuroo’s laptop. “I say we go out tonight.” Kuroo raised an eyebrow at Kenma’s uncharacteristic suggestion. Not that he was opposed to it.

“That sounds great.” Kuroo heard Bokuto answer from the other end of the phone. “Let’s get this plan in motion.”

“I’ll call Suga and Oikawa.” Kenma offered as he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants.

“I’ll invite Ushiwaka. If Suga and Daichi agree to go they’ll call Asahi and Noya. So that’s the entire gang right?” Kuroo asked. He got various answers of agreement. Kuroo ended his call with Bokuto in order to call Ushiwaka.

“Hello?” A deep voice answered.

“What’s up, WakaWaka?” Kuroo asked playfully. Kuroo could hear Ushijima sigh on the other end of the phone.

“Tendou was accepted to participate in the Drop, so he’s excited.” Ushijima answered. Kuroo was surprised to find that Tendou got accepted. How did he get accepted?

“I got denied for not being straight.” Kuroo complained.

“Tendou lied and said he was straight. Why didn’t you just lie?” Ushijima asked in confusion.

“I didn’t lie because I didn’t want the government tracking me down and finding out that I wasn’t straight.” Kuroo answered. He thought about lying, but he’d chickened out at the thought of the police bursting into his apartment to arrest him for lying.

“I highly doubt the government is going to waste its resources trying to figure out if you are really straight or not.” Ushijima said in his blunt way of speaking. “So why did you call?”

“I was wondering if you and Tendou wanted to come out for drinks with the rest of the gang.” Kuroo told the man.

“Give me a minute,” Ushijima said before Kuroo heard rustling on the other end of the phone. Kuroo heard muffled voices as if Ushijima had covered the mic of his phone. “Tendou said sure.” Ushijima said once he was back on the phone.

“Cool, we’ll be meeting up at Asahi and Suga’s cafe at eight.” Kuroo told him before he hung up the phone.

On the other side of the room, Kenma was talking to Iwaizumi, who was relaying the plan to a distraught Oikawa.

“If he’s that upset you guys don’t have to come,” Kenma told Iwaizumi. “We aren’t going to force you guys to hang out with us tonight.” Kenma didn’t know that Oikawa would be so torn up about the rejection. He knew that his friend wanted to be picked to be a part of the Drop, but he didn’t know he was so invested in it.

“No, it’ll be good for him. He’ll be surrounded by other people.” Iwaizumi sighed. Kenma could hear the slight sadness in his voice. It seemed that not just Oikawa got his hopes dashed.

“Well, we’ll see you guys tonight.” Kenma said before hanging up. Kenma pulled his phone away from his for a bit before he decided not to text Suga and just sent him a text.

 _Party at your cafe?_ Kenma sent. Suga usually texted back quickly.

 _Sure. What time?_ Suga replied back a minute later.

 _8 and tell Asahi and Noya_.

 _Got it!!! See you guys at 8 :D._ Suga replied. Kenma put his phone back into his pocket and sat down on the bed next to Kuroo.

“Tonight we drink and tomorrow I regret it while I teach a bunch of high schoolers.” Kuroo declared as he looked up at the ceiling. Kenma curled up against Kuroo’s side and yawned. “Who’s bringing the drinks?” Kuroo asked. That was a good question.

“I guess everyone’s just going to bring their own. And I know for a fact that Suga has a stash in his office at the cafe.” Kenma said.

“That’s how he’s always so mellow and chipper. He drinks on the job.” Kuroo said in a voice of mock understanding. “Maybe I should pour a little something into my coffee while I’m at work.” Kuroo mused. Kenma just stared at him unimpressed.

“I think I need to drink on the job more than you do,” Kenma said. “I have to deal with picky people that think they more than me when they know jack shit.” Kenma huffed.

“You’re right you do need a drink more than I do.”

“So which one of us is staying the most sober?” Kuroo asked. They’d come up with a system in college for when they went out drinking. If they were going to a party or a club, Kenma usually stayed at home or he got a little tipsy. When they just went to someone’s apartment and drank, they usually played Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would get the least drunk.   
Kuroo sat up and put out his hand.   
  
“The rules are best two out of three,” Kuroo said. Kenma sat up also and held out his hand. “Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot.” He called out. Kenma threw down scissors, while Kuroo went with rock.

“One for me,” Kenma said with a smile. “Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot.” This time Kuroo went with rock, while Kenma chose paper. Kenma smirked at Kuroo triumphantly.

“I guess I’m not getting wasted tonight.” 


	6. This Did Not Go As Planned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter did not go as planned. It went in a totally different direction. So be prepared for sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading y'all!!!

Kenma and Kuroo were the first people to arrive at the cafe. Sugawara let them in through the back and placed cups in their hands before they made it to the front of the shop. 

“So did you guys get accepted?” Kuroo asked Daichi as he next to him on one of the sofas. Daichi looked up from his glass and looked at Kuroo.

“I did, Suga didn't.” Daichi sighed. 

“Congratulations,” Kuroo said to his friend. Daichi just shrugged. Kuroo could tell something was bothering his friend. “What's wrong?” Kuroo asked. 

“Something about the whole Drop process just doesn't sit right with me,” Daichi confessed. “I don't know what it is, but I know something isn't right.” 

“When you sit down and actually think about what the Drop is, it's kind of messed up.” Bokuto said as walked over to the two guys. 

“Enough of this depressing mood,” Suga said as he walked into the room. “We are here to have a good time.” 

“I hope you guys haven't started without me.” Tendou shouted as he dragged Ushijima into the room. Ushijima placed a plastic bag onto an empty table. 

“We're still waiting on Asahi and Noya and Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Once they get here we can start.” Suga said.

“If we waited for Princess Tooru to show up we wouldn't be drinking until the morning.” Tendou joked as he poured himself a drink. 

“Who invited the overgrown gremlin?” Everyone turned towards the door and saw Oikawa and Iwaizumi standing there. Oikawa had a hand on his hip and was glaring at Tendou. “And I'm not a princess. I am a king, so bow down peasant.” Oikawa said with a flourish of his hand. Everyone groaned at Oikawa's statement.

“Did that really just come out of your mouth?” Iwaizumi asked his boyfriend. Oikawa just shrugged and poured himself a drink. “Don't get drunk while you're angry.” Oikawa had a tendency to be a bit mean and harsh when he got drunk while he was angry or upset. 

“You’re not my mom, Iwa-chan. I’m an adult. I can drink whenever I want.” Oikawa said before he chugged his drink down. 

“It’s going to be an interesting night.” Kuroo mumbled as he took a sip of his drink. Less than an hour later, they all found out how that interesting was a gross understatement when it came to describing the night.

Akaashi and Kenma were a little tipsy, but not as drunk as Suga, Oikawa, and Tendou. The three of them were in a heated debate about how the “system” was against them.

“Someone has to be controlling the government. I mean why else would the Drop be moving so quickly?” Suga said while he looked around. Tendou and Oikawa nodded in understanding.

“Something has to be wrong. I mean Tendou got accepted and you and I didn’t.” Oikawa said as he pointed between himself and Suga. Tendou glared at Oikawa.

“I’m right here.” He slurred. Oikawa turned his head toward the red haired man and smiled.

“I know. That’s why I said it,” Oikawa said with a smirk. “You know you’re one of my least favorite people in this room.” 

“I’m so hurt,” Tendou said sarcastically as he put a hand over his heart. “How ever will I go on?” He continued dramatically.

“Well, at least I’m not a trash human being. You are so annoying. I don’t know why I hang around you.” Oikawa said as he pointed his finger at Tendou. Tendou smirked maliciously before poking Oikawa in the chest.

“It’s funny that the human incarnation of a dumpster is calling me trash.” Tendou said. Oikawa gasped in offense.

“Well, at least I’m good trash. I’m like the trash of a multimillionaire while you’re the trash of a homeless man.” Oikawa snapped at Tendou. Suga just sat back and watched as his two friends fought. Akaashi walked over to him.

“Aren’t you going to stop them?” He asked Suga. Suga turned his head and blinked lazily at Akaashi before turning back to the boys spitting insults at each other.

“Nope. I’m waiting for one of them to throw a punch, then it’ll get really good.” Suga said with a laugh. Akaashi walked away from Suga with a shake of his head. He headed over to the table where Iwaizumi, Kuroo, Daichi, and Ushijima had set up a poker game. 

“Iwaizumi and Ushijima could you guys please handle your boyfriends?” Akaashi asked the two guys in annoyance. Iwazumi turned and looked at his boyfriend before turning back around and shrugging.

“They need to resolve their issues, so let them scrap it out.” he said in a distracted voice. Akaashi huffed loudly and turned to Ushijima. 

“I agree with Iwaizumi.” Ushijimasaid as he placed a card on the table. 

“Am I the only one that cares that these two are going to end up getting into a physical fight?” Akaashi asked out loud. 

“Yep.” Various people said. Akaashi just stomped back over to Kenma, who was staring intently at Oikawa and Tendou. Akaashi sat down next to his friend with a loud sigh.

Oikawa and Tendou were now in each other’s faces shouting. 

“At least I don’t constantly seek constant validation from people in order to feel loved,” Tendou shouted in Oikawa’s face. “You can deny it all you want, but you and everyone in this room knows that you are nothing but a facade and a shell of person.” 

“Oh shit.” Suga said at Tendou’s harsh words.

“That’s why you entered the Drop. You wanted to feel needed and you wanted someone other than Iwaizumi to make you feel something. But sadly, you were denied and therefore it confirmed all of the thoughts that run rampant in your mind. You thrive off of attention and when you stop getting that attention you start to fall apart.” Tendou’s harsh continued to eat at Oikawa. He could feel himself starting to get worked up. 

Bokuto who’d been playing a board game in the corner with Asahi and Noya finally had enough of the engage going on between Oikawa and Tendou. He stood up and walked over to the two guys and tried to de-escalate the situation.

“That’s enough you guys. We came here to have fun, not attack each other.” Bokuto said. Tendou and Oikawa just ignored him. 

“That’s why when the “Great King” fell from his throne, you couldn’t handle it. You couldn’t handle no longer being on the national stage, so what did you do. You tried to off yourself. That’s probably why you weren’t picked for the Drop because they can’t have someone so mentally unstable participating.” Tendou said with a vicious smirk. The entire room went dead quiet. The guys that were playing poker had forgotten about their game and walked over to Tendou and Oikawa. 

Oikawa could feel his blood run cold. His mind seemed to go blank and all he saw was red. He needed to take Tendou down. He needed to hit where it hurt him the most. 

“Oh yes how could I forget that the great Guess Monster never did anything wrong?” Oikawa could his eye twitch with anger. “I mean how could we all forget about your stint in rehab? Is that addiction under control?” Oikawa could feel the malicious smirk forming on his lips. 

“You are the saddest person I’ve ever met.” Tendou growled at Oikawa.

“Right back at you, sweetheart.” Oikawa walked past Tendou and purposefully bumped his shoulder. Before Oikawa could get too far Tendou reached back and grabbed the collar of Oikawa’s shirt. When Oikawa turned around, Tendou launched his fist at his face. 

Everything happened so quickly after Tendou’s fist connected with Oikawa cheek. Oikawa hunched over and tackled Tendou to the ground. Once he had Tendou on the ground, Oikawa began to rain down punches. Tendou clawed at Oikawa’s skin and got in some punches of their own. 

Kuroo and Iwazumi ran over to Oikawa and pulled him off of Tendou, while they had each other by the neck. Daichi and Ushijima pulled Tendou up off of the ground and restrained him. They both fought to get loose from the people holding them back.

“Oikawa calm the fuck down!” Iwaizumi shouted. 

“I’m fine,” Oikawa snapped back at him. “I’m fine.” he said a bit softer this time. Kuroo could tell the adrenaline was leaving him slowly. 

Ushijima and Daichi had dragged Tendou to the back of the cafe. They sat down in a chair and tried to get him to calm down. 

“We really should have listened to Akaashi.” Suga mumbled as he looked around at the carnage Tendou and Oikawa left behind. It wasn’t a lot of physical wreckage that was left behind. It was more mental and emotional things that were wrecked. 

Oikawa was finally calm enough to be let go. When Kuroo and Iwaizumi let him go Oikawa fell to his knees.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m o...okay.” he mumbled to himself. This was not good. Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi with empty eyes and smiled sadly. “I...I’m o...okay, r...right? I...Iwa-chan...I’m fine.” Oikawa said brokenly to his boyfriend. Iwaizumi could feel his throat start to tighten up at the brokenness of Oikawa’s voice. Kuroo, who was still standing next to Iwaizumi could also feel those shattered words stab him in the heart. 

He’d known Oikawa and Iwaizumi since college. He was around when Oikawa found out about his knee and had to give up playing volleyball professionally. He’d also been there when Iwaizumi called him at three in the morning and told him that he’d had to rush Oikawa to the hospital because he’d overdosed on his pain medicine. So when he saw Oikawa so hurt and broken, it absolutely broke his heart. But he knew that Oikawa was in the wrong as much as Tendou was. 

No one was innocent in this fight. No one had won this fight, but everyone lost in some way. 

Kenma stood off to the side and watched as one of his closest friends started to fall apart at the seams. He watched as Iwaizumi tried to pick Oikawa up from the floor. 

“I'm fine…”Oikawa sobbed as he finally gave in to his emotions. Iwaizumi was finally able to pull Oikawa to his feet. Iwaizumi threw one of Oikawa’s over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around Oikawa's waist. 

“We're gonna head home. Sorry about tonight.” Iwaizumi said before he dragged himself and Oikawa out of the cafe. Once they were gone, Kuroo helped Asahi, Noya, and Bokuto clean up from the disaster of a night.

They went about cleaning in silence. Daichi came from the back of the shop to inform them that Tendou and Ushijima had already left. He walked over to his drunk boyfriend and helped him sober up. Akaashi and Kenma sat at a table as their buzzes wore off. 

“Tonight went to shit faster than I thought it would.” Bokuto tried to joke, but no one including him found the events of the evening funny.

“How are we going to fix this?” Kuroo asked as he leaned on a broom.

“We're gonna have to make Tendou and Oikawa talk to each other like adults,” Daichi said. “They need to resolve this sooner rather than later.” Everyone knew Daichi was right, but they didn’t know how to get those two in the same room together after tonight. 

While they were all trying to figure the best course of action, Iwaizumi and Oikawa finally made it back to their apartment. Iwaizumi dumped Oikawa down onto the bed and sighed loudly. 

“Why are you so heavy?” Iwaizumi asked his boyfriend. Oikawa just rolled onto the bed and groaned into the pillows. “You are a hot mess.” he said as he sat down next to Oikawa and slowly undressed him. While Iwaizumi was taking Oikawa’s shoes off, Oikawa turned his head to the side and stared at Iwaizumi.

“Hajime?” Oikawa mumbled. Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa. “Do you love me?”

“What?” Iwaizumi asked. “Of course I do.”

“You deserve so much better.” Oikawa cried. Iwaizumi reached over and smoothed down Oikawa’s tousled hair. “But I can’t let you go because I’d be alone and no one would love me.” Oikawa’s breathing started to pick up. 

“Calm down, Tooru. Take a deep breath.” Iwaizumi instructed while taking a deep breath of his own. Oikawa followed Iwaizumi’s lead and took a deep breath. “And I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me forever.” he said before placing a soft kiss on Oikawa’s forehead. 

Iwaizumi stayed with Oikawa until he fell asleep. Once Oikawa was asleep Iwaizumi was finally able to think about what happened earlier.

It was clear that Oikawa still struggled with the idea of never being able to play professional volleyball again. It tore him up inside to know that such negative thoughts were running through Oikawa’s head. He would need to keep an eye on him for the next few days. 

Tonight was supposed to be about having fun and unwinding, but it turned into a night of unraveling mental states.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like your opinions. The main focus of this fic is Kenma and Kuroo. But would you guys like to see glimpses into the lives of the other guys?


	7. Why Did You Do That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit all over the place. There is also an explanation of what the Drop is. It's probably not what you guys were expecting.

Kenma stared at the screen of his laptop willing his work to do itself. He'd been staring at the for fifteen minutes. His mind was still jumbled from the night before. He'd only been able to get a few hours of sleep. He had been pissed that morning when his boss called him and told him he had to work in the office. 

 

He blew a piece of hair out of his face in annoyance. He really needed a haircut. His hair brushed the top of his shoulders and the blonde was halfway halfway grown out. He'd ask Kuroo to help him re-dye it...eventually. Kenma pulled his hair into a ponytail and went back to work. 

 

“Kozume!” A man shouted from next to him. Kenma jumped in fright before turning to look at the man. His boss was leaning against his cubicle with a stern look on his face.

 

“Sir?” Kenma asked. 

 

“Kimura is here to speak with you about his website.” Kenma rolled his eyes before getting up from his desk.

 

“If he strokes my hands again I'm walking out this office.” Kenma snapped before walking to the conference room. 

 

A balding, pot-bellied man was sitting in one of the chairs stirring his straw around in his complimentary cup of coffee. Kenma cringed as he walked into the room. 

 

“Good afternoon, Kimura-san.” Kenma gritted out before sitting across from the man. The man leered at Kenma before greeting him back.

 

“It’s always a delight seeing you, Kenma-kun.” Kenma was not in the mood to put up with Kimura’s weird come-ons. He was running on fumes and he’d stupidly agreed to meet up with Oikawa for lunch. Today was not the day.

 

“I would prefer if you referred to me in a more professional way.” Kenma said before he pulled up the website he’d been working on for Kimura. The sight was projected onto a screen and Kenma grabbed a laser pointer to show what changes he made. 

 

Kenma could feel Kimura’s beady eyes drilling into the side of his face. Kenma begrudgingly continued with what he was doing and tried his best to ignore the man. When he was finished, Kenma turned to face Kimura.

 

“What did you think of the changes?” he asked knowing that the man hadn’t been paying attention. Kimura reached across the table and placed his hand on top of Kenma’s. Kenma slid his hand out from under the man’s, but it was caught. “Please let go of my hand.” Kenma tried to tug his hand out of the man’s grasp, but Kimura just tightened his hold on Kenma’s hand.

 

“You have such lovely hands. They are slender, soft, and so delicate just like the body that they are attached to.” Kenma continued trying to tear his hand away from Kimura’s sweaty, meaty hand. Kimura’s other hand began to run its way up Kenma’s arm. “You are so beautiful, Kenma-chan. You exude such innocence and grace. I enjoy imagining what your hair would look like undone and spread out against my futon. Just the thought of your naked body laid on my futon is getting me excited.” 

 

That was the breaking point. Kenma brought his free hand up and smashed it into Kimura’s nose. The man quickly let go of Kenma in order to bring his hands to his face. Kenma shot up out of his chair and swung another hand at Kimura’s face. After hitting the man a second time, Kenma stormed out of the conference room and slammed the door.

 

The sudden noise caused his boss to peak out of his office. He glared at Kenma, who just glared back at the man.

 

“I’m leaving! Don’t call me in anymore! And drop Kimura as a client! I’m done dealing with this fucking shit!” Kenma seethed before he walked to his desk. He shoved his things into his messenger bag before heading to the elevator. He could feel the gazes of his co-workers boring into his back. 

 

“Kozume if you walk out of this building consider yourself out of a job.” His boss shouted at him as he smashed the down button of the elevator.

 

“I guess you’re down one of your best designers then.” Kenma said just as the doors of the elevator opened. He stepped inside and turned around. He could see his boss glaring at the elevator. Kenma held his gaze until the doors closed. The moment the doors closed, Kenma’s legs gave out underneath him and he fell to the ground.

 

His hands were shaking uncontrollably and his breathing was starting to pick up. He’d just lost his job and some man almost sexually assaulted him. What was he going to tell Kuroo? How do you tell someone you walked out of your job? 

 

Kenma tried to calm his breathing down before he got off the elevator, but that didn’t work. He could feel his throat starting to close up. It was getting harder to breathe. He couldn’t lose control in the elevator. Kenma shakily dragged himself to his feet and covered his mouth with his hand. He needed to calm down, but it nothing was working. 

 

When the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, Kenma raced out of the elevator and escaped from the building. He tried to take a deep breath of the air outside, but his chest still felt tight. So instead he tried to sync his breathing with a countdown in his head. He counted down from twenty and breathed along with it. He could feel it getting easier to breathe. Once his breathing was back under control, he started to head toward the train station that would take home.   
When he finally stumbled into his apartment, Kenma kicked his shoes off before heading to the bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed face down and groaned. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and messaged Oikawa to tell him to meet him at his apartment for lunch. 

 

After getting a reply from Oikawa, Kenma rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. What was he going to do without a job? He didn't want to think about how Kuroo would react. Kenma groaned at the hasty decision he’d made. But he knew he’d made the right decision for himself. He couldn’t bring himself to work in a place that allowed their employees to be violated by clients. He knew that Kimura brought in a lot of money, but Kenma wasn’t some host that could be passed off onto the man in order to insure his continued patronage. 

 

After thinking for a few minutes, Kenma climbed out of the bed and changed out of his work clothes. He flung his tie and button up shirt onto a chair that sat in the corner for the sole purpose of having discarded clothes thrown onto it. He stripped out of his pants and threw them into the closet. He knew for a fact that Kuroo would be miffed at the fact that he didn’t fold his clothes or put them in the dirty clothes hamper, but he couldn’t be bothered. 

 

Kenma slipped into a t-shirt he’d stolen from Kuroo while they were still in high school and slipped into an old pair of Nekoma sweatpants. He sat down on the bed and pulled out his 3DS and started playing where he’d left off. There was no feeling quite like the feeling of losing yourself in a game. 

 

Kenma was absorbed in fighting one of the game’s bosses that he didn't hear the knocking on his front door until the knocking turned into pounding. He walked out of the bedroom and shuffled to the front door. He unlocked the door and threw it open.

 

“Could you text me like a normal person next time?” Kenma said to Oikawa. The man’s usually perfectly coiffed brown hair was greasy and hidden under a beanie. 

 

“I did text you.” Oikawa said before showing Kenma the message he'd sent. Kenma looked at the screen and saw that Oikawa really did send him a text telling him he was outside. 

 

“Sorry I was distracted.” Kenma said before waving Oikawa into the apartment. Oikawa took his shoes off before stepping into the living room. 

 

“So why aren't you at work?” Oikawa asked as he plopped down onto the couch. Kenma sat down next to Oikawa and pulled his knees to his chest.

 

“I walked out.” Kenma mumbled. 

 

“You did what?” Oikawa asked in surprise.

 

“I reached my breaking point with a client I had and walked out on him and my boss. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.” Kenma sighed. 

 

“We all reach our breaking at some point.” Oikawa sighed. “Speaking of breaking points, I'm sorry about what happened last night. I let things go too far and I ended up ruining everyone's night.” 

 

“It's partially our fault as well because we didn't stop you guys and laughed you guys’ argument off.” Kenma knew that the fight could have been avoided completely if they had just listening to Akaashi. Oikawa scooted over on the couch and put his head on Kenma's shoulder. 

 

“We're all a mess.” Oikawa sighed. “Suga called me this morning and said that Tendou and I needed to have a talk and finally settle our differences.” 

 

“That's the adult thing to do.” Kenma told his friend.

 

“Well being an adult sucks.” Being an adult really did suck most of the time. But it also had its perks. There weren't many but there were a few. 

 

Kenma didn't know how to breach the subject, but he knew he had to talk to Oikawa about or Oikawa would bottle it up and let it fester inside of him until he burst. 

 

“So how are feeling about being rejected from participating in the Drop?”Kenma asked as he looked down at his fingers. He could hear Oikawa’s breathing hitch.

 

“I'm trying not to think about it.” He answered. “I really wanted to be accepted because I have so much to give and I just wanted someone who would love me unconditionally and think that I was unstoppable. But now I can't. I guess this is just another thing I'm not cut out for. 

 

The Drop in the 1940s when a baby was dropped at the door of a young couple’s home. They took the child in and raised it. The couple then went to the government and told them about their plans to help babies in unsavory situations find loving homes. The government implemented their proposal and started calling it the Drop. Now people had to apply and go through a process to be picked to participate in the Drop. 

 

The Drop involved mainly babies between the ages of 2 months and a year old. Orphans older than that were left with orphanages. Kenma had always the system seemed suspicious. The babies that didn't get picked were just sent back to orphanages. 

 

“You don't need a kid in order to be loved unconditionally. You and Iwaizumi have been through a lot together and he's still there. So I think you already have one person that loves you unconditionally.” Kenma tried to reason with his friend. 

 

“Some days I feel like he could do leagues better than me. I mean I'm used to people getting fed up with me and leaving. I mean my parents did it. Why wouldn't Iwa-chan?” Oikawa sighed. 

 

“Well your parents are dicks and they didn't deserve you or your sister.” Kenma mumbled. He wasn't used to being the one to do the comforting. Comforting was Akaashi and Suga’s job, while Kenma sat off to the side and offered awkward back pats and had snacks. But he would have to push away how out of his depth he was in order to help his friend.

 

“Thanks for being here for me. I know this emotional stuff isn't your forte, but you're nicer to me than Suga.” Oikawa laughed as he hugged Kenma around the waist. “I'm gonna steal you from Kuroo. You're the cutest little thing ever.” Oikawa placed a sloppy kiss on Kenma's cheek and laughed at Kenma's scrunched up face. 

 

Kenma pushed Oikawa's face away from his.

 

“I don't accept kisses from people with greasy hair,” Kenma said as he worked his way out of Oikawa's hold. Oikawa rolled his eyes at Kenma’s jab before standing up from the couch and walking out the living room. “Where are you going?” he asked as Oikawa disappeared down the hallway. 

 

“I’m going take a shower.” He shouted before slamming what Kenma assumed was the bathroom door. Kenma pulled himself off of the couch and walked to the bathroom. 

 

“Don’t use Kuroo’s fancy shampoo. He’s going to be mad if he finds out that you used some of it.” Kenma told Oikawa over the sound of the shower.

 

“Why does he have expensive shampoo when his hair looks like it does?” Oikawa asked. 

 

“His hair is actually really soft and it looks fine after he washes it. It’s just he doesn’t know how to sleep like a normal person.” Kenma replied. He’d known Kuroo for most of his life and he still hasn’t been able to tell Kuroo the real reason why his hair looks the way it does. He’s just learned to live with it and no one could picture Kuroo without his signature hair. It was like Bokuto. Kenma still found it weird when his hair was spiked up. “There’s towels in the cabinet underneath the sink.” 

 

Kenma walked away from the bathroom and walked back into living room. He sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. The only thing shows that were playing were re-runs of dramas, kids anime, and the news. 

 

He’d briefly dozed off while Oikawa was in the shower and didn’t hear the front door open. He didn’t wake up until he felt someone’s presence hovering over him. Cracking an eye open Kenma looked up and saw Kuroo standing over him.

 

“Why are you standing over me like a creep?” Kenma mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. He tried to sit up but felt a heavy weight on his legs. Looking down, Kenma saw Oikawa curled up at the other end of the couch in some of Kuroo’s clothes. 

 

“Did he use my shampoo?” Kuroo asked holding a bottle of shampoo. Kenma groaned.

 

“Damn it, Oikawa.” He sighed as he hit his friend with a pillow. Oikawa startled awake. “Why did you use Kuroo’s shampoo?” he asked.

 

“Because the other bottle of shampoo that was in the shower was empty and it wasn’t high quality. You should really use better products on your Kenma especially because it bleached. You need to take better care of your hair. For example, you need to cut your split ends and maybe touch up your hair or just cut the bleach out all together.” Oikawa rambled. 

 

Kuroo grabbed the ends of Kenma’s hair and examined them.

 

“He’s right you do need to take care of these split ends.” Kuroo said before he walked out of the living room. Kenma sighed as he saw Kuroo walk back in with a comb and a pair of scissors. 

 

“Are you really about to cut his split ends?” Oikawa asked. Kuroo nodded as he went to work cutting the split ends.

 

“He’s also the one that helps me bleach my hair.” Kenma admitted. 

 

“How does he know how to do all of this?” Oikawa asked in awe.

 

“My mom is a hair stylist and I always thought it was cool so she taught me some basic things.” Kuroo said. “But she could never help me tame my hair.” He said with a shrug.

 

Oikawa spent the rest of the afternoon with Kuroo and Kenma until Iwaizumi came by and picked him up. Now that they were alone Kenma was finally forced to remember that he’d walked out on his job earlier in the day. He still hadn’t figured out how he was going to tell Kuroo about it.

 

“So what did you guys talk about?” Kuroo asked as they were eating dinner.

 

“I asked him how he was feeling about being rejected from the Drop and he told me that Suga talked to him about talking with Tendou.” Kenma answered as he pushed his food around on his plate. The moment he brought up the Drop, Kenma saw Kuroo tense up. They still hadn’t had an in-depth talk about his rejection, so Kenma knew that Kuroo was avoiding having to deal with the situation. 

 

Kuroo just nodded his head before taking a sip from his glass. Kenma wanted Kuroo to be honest with him, but he didn’t know how to approach the situation.  
“So how are you feeling about the Drop?” Kenma asked bluntly. It was a good thing he was not known in their friendship group for sugarcoating things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!!! Thank you for reading and hope you continue to read.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter!!! 
> 
> Do you guys have any guesses about what the "Drop" could be? If you do please leave them in a comment below.
> 
> Next Chapter: Oikawa comes to visit and setter secrets are revealed.


End file.
